Saudi Arabia calls on Iran to clarify outstanding IAEA safeguards issues

Saudi Arabia called on Iran to cooperate fully with the UN’s nuclear watchdog in order to clarify and resolve outstanding safeguards issues without delay, Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan, the Kingdom’s ambassador to Austria, expressed his country’s support for all efforts made by the International Atomic Energy Agency to maintain the safeguards system to limit nuclear proliferation.

Prince Abdullah, who is also the Saudi permanent representative to the IAEA in Vienna, was speaking during a meeting of the agency’s board of governors in the Austrian capital, where Tehran was censured for failing to provide information over nuclear material found at three undeclared sites.

He expressed his thanks to IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi for his report on the “Non-proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement with Iran,” and highlighted the need to inform member states of the developments related to Iran’s violations of the safeguards deal.

Prince Abdullah said that this is necessary as it shows the continued lack of transparency of the Iranian side regarding the IAEA’s claim related to the fourth Marivan site more than two years ago.

Prince Abdullah said it also showed Iran is continuing to provide discredited responses to the watchdog’s “sampling results at this site, which revealed the presence of multiple anthropogenic uranium particles and the possible for storage and use of nuclear materials on which external testing of conventional explosive systems were conducted.”

Iran failed to provide any evidence to the IAEA to explain the presence of isotope modified particles in the Torkozabad site or anthropogenic uranium particles at the Faramin site, he said.

Prince Abdullah referred to a draft resolution approved in the June 2020 session, in which the board of governors called on Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA, expedite the response to its requests, and provide the director-general with opportunities to resolve the issue.

He demanded that the document be published and made available to all.